MILAN, Feb 7 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics began in northern Italy on Friday, marked by the simultaneous lighting of two Olympic cauldrons for the first time in games history, Kyodo News Agency reported.
The identical Olympic cauldrons were sparked to life around 250 kilometres apart, one at the landmark Arco della Pace in Milan and another at Piazza Angelo Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo, heralding the start of the sporting spectacle that runs through Feb 22.
Bearing the names of two cities for the first time, the games will feature some 2,900 athletes representing 92 national Olympic committees, competing in 116 medal events.
Venues are spread across four clusters -- in Milan, Valtellina, Cortina d'Ampezzo and Val di Fiemme -- with the opening ceremony athletes' parade held in each.
After only a limited number of spectators were permitted to attend live events at the COVID-19-hit 2022 Games in Beijing, the crowds are being welcomed back as Italy plays host to the Winter Games for the third time, following the 1956 Games in Cortina and the 2006 Games in Turin.
The torch relay began in Rome on Dec 6, and after 63 days travelling the southern European nation, concluded with the final torchbearers -- Italian alpine skiing icons Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba -- lighting the cauldron at Arco della Pace, while current downhill star Sofia Goggia did the honors in Cortina.
Men's speed skating sprinter Wataru Morishige was the flagbearer for Japan at the opening ceremony in Milan's iconic football venue Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, better known as the San Siro, and Sena Tomita from the women's snowboard halfpipe in Valtellina.
Zimbabwean International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry is overseeing her first games as both the first woman and first African in the role, having taken over from Thomas Bach last June.
“The spirit of the Olympic Games is about so much more than sport. It is about us -- and what makes us human,” Coventry, a backstroke gold medalist at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, said in her speech during the opening ceremony.
“Here, athletes from every corner of the world compete fiercely -- but they also respect, support, and inspire one another. They remind us that we are all connected, that our strength comes from how we treat each other and that the best of humanity is found in courage, compassion, and kindness.”
Tadatoshi Akiba, the former mayor of Hiroshima, was among those honoured with a role carrying the Olympic flag in recognition of his nuclear disarmament work via Mayors for Peace, an international organisation of cities advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Milan Cortina will be the most gender-balanced Winter Olympics ever, with women accounting for 47 per cent of the athletes competing.
The games programme features four new women's events and 12 mixed-gender events.
Japan will look to eclipse its record tally of 18 medals from four years ago, aiming to also top the three gold medals it won in 2022.
A late addition of one member means the Japanese delegation comprises 121 athletes, three short of its largest team from last time out.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
